By Sarah Metcalf and Steve Babcock
Administrators are set to announce an approximate 6.1 percent increase in the university’s 2005-06 tuition today as part of the unveiling of the next year’s fiscal budget, according to a member of the university’s Committee on Funding Priorities (CFP).
If passed by the University’s Board of Trustees, the increase of over $1,600 a year marks a substantial rise in the tuition rate from last year’s 4.5 percent increase, which was one of the lowest in over a decade.
Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Larry Mucciolo said an increase was necessary to continue funding the five-year Academic Investment Plan which will bring 100 new faculty members to Northeastern.
The budget also has to sustain the graduation of the so-called “bulge” class of 2005 — a class that surpassed enrollment limits — which was a large revenue resource. Though the committee member cited this as one of the reasons for the hike, Mucciolo said the increased retention rates will make up the difference and said it did not contribute to the rise.
Also contributing to the rising costs is the construction of new residence halls, higher health care payments for students and staff and the increasing cost of utilities throughout the university, the committee member said. Mucciolo also said the construction of campus residence halls had nothing to do with the increase.
“There is no relationship between the tuition increase and the cost of any residence hall,” Mucciolo said Monday, prior to the presentation.
“The loss of the bulge class should be offset by stronger student retention,” he added. “Next year, we plan to have the same amount of students [as this year].”
Erin McFadzen, SGA vice president for student affairs, said she thinks the tuition increase is directly related to the specific budget the university will be operating on next year, rather than an investment in future plans.
“I think it has less to do with where the university wants to go and more to do with where the budget is this year,” said McFadzen, who sat on the CFP this year.
Last year, SGA passed legislation formally recommending the budget increase be no more than 2 percent. Although the final number was 4.5 percent, the low number was still considered to be a “half victory,” said SGA Sen. Michael Benson, who sat on the CFP last year.
Benson said discussions in CFP last year led to a verbal agreement that the committee would make an effort to keep tuition around 4.5 percent throughout the duration of the Academic Investment Plan.
The increase has yet to be set in stone, as members of the SGA and students are given the opportunity to voice their opinions at one of two budget presentations. Students are being encouraged to attend the presentation in the Raytheon Amphitheater Thursday at 6 p.m. The budget will then be sent to the Board of Trustees for approval.
SGA President Bill Durkin said he is planning on sending a message to the committee not only by convincing as many students as possible to attend, but also with the help of a visual aid.
Adding a new twist to the concept of a “money tree,” Durkin and other members of SGA spent the beginning of the week standing outside in the Snell Library Quad with a tree Durkin chopped down himself in his native Pelham, N.H. Students passing by were encouraged to write their estimated total amount of student loans on index cards, which were then hung off the branches of the tree.
An announcement about the tree was also posted on myNEU, and students on co-op or outside of the city had the opportunity to e-mail their amounts to Durkin to be placed on the tree. As of Tuesday night, the total amount of debt hanging off the tree was $11,452,318.24 — and growing. Durkin said he will bring the tree into the meeting with the hopes it will attract the CFP’s attention to the large sacrifices many students make to be at Northeastern.
SGA Sen. Chad Cooper said although he is somewhat disappointed at the relatively large increase, SGA can take this year’s experiences and learn from them when negotiating budgets in the future.
“I think it’s more about how we can learn from this and modify the game plan for next year,” Cooper said. “I’m not as upset as I thought I would be, but I think voicing our concern is a start.”
Benson’s concern is that the university is not yet up to its tuition standards.
“We’re moving away from our roots as an urban, co-op, blue-collar institution and moving into the upper echelon,” Benson said. “We have to remember the university itself isn’t there yet, so while we can charge like MIT and Harvard, we’re wondering if students are going to get the bang for their buck.”
